Political Economy of Media Industries : Global Transformations and Challenges

This book provides a critical political economic examination of the impact of increasingly concentrated global media industries. It addresses different media and communication industries from around the globe, including film, television, music, journalism, telecommunication, and information industries. The authors use case studies to examine how changing methods of production and distribution are impacting a variety of issues including globalization, environmental devastation, and the shifting role of the State. This collection finds communication at a historical moment in which capitalist control of media and communication is the default status and, so, because of the increasing levels of concentration globally allows those in control to define the default ideological status. In turn, these concentrated media forces are deployed under the guise of entertainment but with a mind towards further concentration and control of the media apparatuses many times in convergence with others Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 12 List of Contributors 14 Acknowledgments 20 List of Abbreviations 22 1 Introduction 26 PART I: The Film Industry 32 2 The Hollywood Trilogy, The Disney Duo 34 3 Movie Theaters and Money: Integration and Consolidation in Film Exhibition 47 4 How Hollywood Workers Unite: Labor Convergence and the Creation of SAG-AFTRA 66 5 The Mexican Film Industry 2000–2018: Resurgence or Assimilation? 82 PART II: Other Media Industries 108 6 The New Holy Grail: Scripted Television Production and State, Provincial & National Incentives 110 7 Old Strategies in the New Paradigm: Web Series and Corporate Control 135 8 State Monopoly of Telecommunications in Ethiopia: Revisiting Natural Monopoly in the Era of Deregulation 152 9 Through Being Cool: The Critical Political Economy of iTunes 173 10 In Practice and Theory? Scholarship on Wikipedia’s Political Economy 190 PART III: New and Enduring Challenges 208 11 Bribe and Journalism 210 12 Labor in the Age of Digital (Re)Production 230 13 Power Under Pressure: Digital Capitalism in Crisis 251 14 Minutes to Midnight: Capitalist Communication and Climate Catastrophe 269 15 Time, Globality and Commodity Fetishism 287 Index 302 The Hollywood trilogy, the Disney duo / Eileen R. Meehan -- Movie theaters and money : integration and consolidation in film exhibition / Ben Birkinbine -- How Hollywood workers unite : labor convergence and the creation of SAG-AFTRA / Catherine McKercher and Vincent Mosco -- Mexican film industry, 2000-2018 : resurgence or assimilation? / Rodrigo Gomez -- The new holy grail : prime time television and state production incentive in the United States / William M. Kunz -- Old strategies in the new paradigm : web series and corporate control / Mary P. Erickson -- State monopoly of telecommunications in Ethiopia : revisiting natural monopoly in the era of deregulation / Téwodros W. Workneh and H. Leslie Steeves -- Through being cool : iTunes and the political economy of music retail / David Gracon -- In practice and theory? : a review of scholarship on Wikipedia's political economy / Randall Livingstone -- Bribe and journalism / Jörg Becker -- Labor in the age of digital (re)production / Gerald Sussman -- Power under pressure : digital capitalism in crisis / Dan Schiller -- Minutes to midnight : capitalist communication and climate catastrophe / Graham Murdock -- Time, ecology, and commodity fetishism / Wayne Hope "This book provides a critical political economic examination of the impact of increasingly concentrated global media industries. It addresses different media and communication industries from around the globe, including film, television, music, journalism, telecommunication, and information industries. The authors use case studies to examine how changing methods of production and distribution are impacting a variety of issues including globalization, environmental devastation, and the shifting role of the State. This collection finds communication at a historical moment in which capitalist control of media and communi-cation is the default status, and so, because of the increasing levels of concentration globally, allowing those in control to define the default ideological status. In turn, these concentrated media forces are deployed under the guise of entertainment but with a mind toward further con-centration and control of the media apparatuses many times in conver-gence with others."-- Provided by publisher "Building on Janet Wasko's political economy of communication research, contributors examine prevalent themes in the study of media work and industries--labor, power, money--by discussing their relevance to new media platforms, to the crisis economy, and to the rise of non-Western economies. The volume comprises a theoretical discussion of foundational issues in the political economy of communication (such as ideology and capitalism) and analysis of an array of "old" and new media, from newspaper and film to the Internet and video games"-- Provided by publisher This volume examines prevalent themes in the study of media work and industries---labor, power, money---by discussing their relevance to new media platforms, to the crisis economy, and to the rise of non-Western economies.